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mental health

It’s a little ironic that I’m writing this now; it’s the penultimate night before my exams, and I’m desperately seeking something to distract me from my impending assessments. But I felt that, given the relationship I have with exam terms, and the toll they routinely take on my mental health, I’d speak a little bit about what I’ve learnt over time.
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s the importance of your support structures. My family, friends, and boyfriend, are all aware of my exam related anxiety, which makes it so much easier for me to reach out to them when I’m stressed. From little things, like popping your favourite treats in the post, to even sitting by on FaceTime, to keep you company, and help you relax as you revise, the impact of my support system is beyond words.

I also think it’s important to be honest with those around you. There’s no shame in admitting that certain situations trigger your anxiety, so long as your clear that you’ll do you’re best to continue to work despite this. Relating to my situation specifically, telling my college that I was suffering during exam term, improved my situation tremendously; they put me in contact with a college counsellor for me to see if things were too difficult, and arranged for me to sit my exams in a smaller room separate to the large exam hall.

Now, the steps above rely little on the people around us, but it’s also important to be proactive yourself in managing your stress. It took me a very long time to realise that my anxiety, and mental health in general, were things I’d have to continuously work on. Particularly when you’re surround by people for whom ‘normal’ stress reactions require absolutely no effort, it can feel odd to take the time out to work on things that come so naturally to others; but this will make all the difference when those stressful times come. Practice mindfulness, see therapist or counsellor, take up jogging or a sport, find SOMETHING that can take you out of those awful panic-filled moments.

I hope these tips were useful, I think I’ll be doing a YouTube video on this in the future, as it is something I get a lot of questions on. Please share in the comments, if you have any tips for managing anxiety, you never know who you may help!

One thing that has become increasingly evident, in my time in medical school, is that I cannot survive this career if I continue to view myself as a self-sufficient island. When I started university, I came from a position of very rarely needing help, as I’m sure many medical students do. We’re often top of our class, used to puzzling out our problems by ourselves, and usually giving advice and help to others. While this success is useful for our confidence, and, of course, our success, it also feeds another, less positive part of our being, our ego. And as my mother always says, ‘Pride comes before a fall’.

This was lesson I learned he hard way when I started university. From almost my first day at Cambridge, my journey good only be described as one thing; a struggle. Even now, in my final year, six of six, this is the still the most apt way to describe my time here. However, this is not unique. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a medical student who will describe their time at university as ‘easy’. Unfortunately, you may need to press quite hard for this information; despite medical students often struggling with the stress and pressure of their degree, we can often still remain tight lipped about how hard we find things.

However, keeping silent about our struggles can be dangerous, for us and for out patients. I’ve discussed a little before about why it’s so important, for our mental health and well being, to be open when we find things difficult. But it’s almost more important to be honest about when we feel unsure about things relating to our patients. While admitting that you aren’t’ sure about a patient’s diagnosis, or management, may hurt your ego, attempting to save your pride can be fatal. This is why humility, and the ability to ask for help, are some the most important characteristics a doctor can have.

Even now, I still have to fight the desire to smile and nod numbly, when a doctor mentions a disease or drug I’ve never heard of. But getting used to saying ‘Actually, I don’t know’ is good for me, and great for my patients.

Let me know if this is something you’ve struggled with, or if you have any tips you have for getting over it.

Hi Guys, This video is collection of a few of the questions that I get asked regularly, about being a medical student, at the University of Cambridge. I thought it would be more efficient to answer them in one go, instead of sending the same reply individually. Hopefully this is useful, if there are any questions I’ve missed out, post them below!

In this video, I take you around my favorite places in Cambridge; the places I go to when I want to wind down, and forget about all of the work I have to do!

St John’s College: This is the college I am at! I’ve never quite gotten over how beautiful it is, and I’ve been here for almost 5 years.

The market: I’ve always loved the market, particularly the food stalls. In a city as small as Cambridge, I’m very luck to have access to fresh food, and produce, from all over the world. My favorites are the falafel stand and, of course, the Nigerian food stall.

The Botanic Gardens are just so stunning. Even in the winter, there is still such a bright mixture of different plants, flowers and trees. I’m always amazed at the ability of the gardeners here to grow such diverse and tropical plants, in England, of all places.

The Fitzwilliam Museum is one of my favourite places to just wander, and waste a few hours. They also hold great events, such as ‘Love After Dark’, where you can spend the evening amongst amazing works of art.

I hope you found this video fun, and got an insight into the world of Cambridge, outside of lecture theaters. Let me know if you’ve been to visit, and the different places that you loved!

Hi Guys! This video is about 5 things I wish I’d known before I started University. The fact that I’m at medical school, puts a bit of a unique spin on it. Hopefully this gives those of you thinking about applying to medical school, some idea of what it’s like here!

If you have any questions, please comment below, and I’ll get back to you, as soon as possible!

This video is about how I’ve dealt with failure and disappointment. These are inevitable events in life, especially if you chose to study a competitive subject, like medicine. Learning to bounce back from failure, and continue to progress, is incredibly important, hopefully this video can help you!

Please excuse the lighting, I’m still working on it!

If you have any questions, please comment below, and I’ll get back to you, as soon as possible!

Hi guys! In the video below, I discuss some of the ways than I recognise, and manage, stress in my life. As a medical student, stress is a huge part of our degree, however it can really impact our wellbeing, as shown by the huge proportion of mental illnesses amongst medical student.

Hopefully this video can give you some insight into how I deal with this, and maybe you as well! Enjoy!

Be sure to post your tips, along with any questions and comments, below!